(Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni)

“Discovered” by Dr. Moises Bertoni in the jungles of Paraguay in 1903, Stevia had been used for centuries by the Guarani Indians as both sweetener and medicine.  It is now grown and consumed in many other parts of the world for those same properties.  The leaf is 150 to 300 times sweeter than refined sugar, but contains no carbohydrates or calories.  The FDA prohibits labeling Stevia as a sweetener due to alleged health concerns but, for the last thirty five years, it has been widely used in Japan in lieu of sugar and now accounts for more than 40% of the Japanese sweetener market.  During that entire time not a single incident of a Stevia related health problem has ever been reported.  In the U.S., on the other hand, over 75% of all food additive related complaints concern artificial sweeteners…which the FDA insists are safe.  See stevia.com to view a comprehensive library of abstracts of peer-reviewed professional journal articles on the subject.

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